BLACK MIRROR SEASON 5 05-06-19
BROUGHT TO YOU BY: LOUISA WILKIE LEAH RICE ALICE BURGESS DANIEL CARVALHO JOCHEBED ADDO WINNER OMOREGBEE LOUIS HARRIS-FRY WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM: ROKAS JUOZAPAVICIUS LANA D QUEEN BONDAGE BUNNY
ISSUE 1
RIOTS AND REBELLION 2019 has seen the news taken over by protests. We take a deeper look into those in France and London and the tactics taken by protesters and evaluating how successful they actually are. Words by Leah Rice. France images by Rokas Juozapavicius, London images by Leah Rice
Since 17th November 2018, the streets of France have been encompassed with protesters donning florescent yellow vests. Every weekend since, the picturesque cities of France have been more reminiscent of a war zone. With the oxygen in the air turned to tear gas, it is an ongoing battle between the police and protesters. But why did it all start? The anger was first fuelled by record prices at the petrol pump. Between 20172018, the price of diesel increased by around 20% to an average of ₏1.49 per litre. The French president Emmanuel Macron then announced further taxes of fuel that were due to come into eect on 1st January 2019. Macron said that this was necessary in order to help combat climate change. The first people to be against this were citizens that lived in small towns and rural areas of France as they rely on their cars to get around.
However, this then spiralled into a wider movement across most of France that was against President Macron in what they claim is his bias in favour of the elite. According to analysts, most of the people that have joined the movement are workers on lower
middle incomes who say they barely scrape by and get minimal public services in exchange for some of the highest tax bills in Europe. As well as opposing the fuel increase, the protesters have other demands too. They are varied person to person, but on the whole, they are calling for President Macrons resignation because they say he is an elitist. They also want tax cuts reversed that are seen as favouring the rich. Others want more measures put in place to help the poorest citizens. In addition to this, people also want social justice and improved spending power.
After the backlash, the French government cancelled the fuel price rise. They also announced measures to help boost spending power and launched the national debate. But despite all this, the protests still continue six months on. The protests have been on an extremely large scale and have gone noticed around the world for the extremities they have shown. Whilst this gets their cause heard, it has to pose the question how far is too far? The protest methods of the yellow vests are questionable. Their main tactics are civil disobedience, collective anarchism, looting, arson and vandalism. Their actions have led to the worst riots France has seen for more than a decade. In rural areas protesters have closed roads, forced motorway toll booths to be closed down and walled
up the entrances to tax oďŹƒces. The city suering the most from the protests is Paris. Historical landmarks such as the Arc De Triumph have been vandalised with graďŹƒti. Tourists and locals are both being threatened when they are just passing by. Businesses have been forced to close due to windows being smashed to pieces and then being looted. In addition to this, make-shift barricades are being created on roads to block any cars from passing. These barricades are then being set on fire along with any parked cars. Police are on the streets trying to contain and stop the protests but this is being met with retaliation as protesters then throw stones and various projectiles at the authorities.
Due to the extreme methods of protesting, police are having to step up their actions too. However, they are facing criticism from human rights campaigners around the world that their strategy is too severe and is damaging people instead of helping them. In January, the Council of European Human Rights commissioner went to France to speak to government officials expressing safety concerns. In attempts to disperse the large crowds, police are using controversial methods that include high velocity rubber bullets, hundreds of canisters of tear gas, stun grenades and water canons. They are also pushing back crowds by hitting them with batons. Many protesters have reported injuries from rubber bullets and being hit with batons.
There have also been reports that humanitarian aid workers from the red cross have been injured. They have been intervening helping citizens affected by the tear gas and hurt by rubber bullets, but when they run into the crowd, they are also hit by police. But despite the injuries, this heavy handed response isn’t deterring protesters. Six months on, it is still happening every weekend. The yellow vest movement has suffered 15 deaths and over 4000 injuries. With no sign of anything changing, it poses the question of what type of protesting is actually effective, if any?
214 Miles away from Paris is London. In April, London seen a 10 day large scale protest that shut down major parts of the city led by Extinction Rebellion.
Extinction Rebellion started in the UK in 2018 after The Intergovernmental Panel, which is part of the United Nations, released a report on climate change. Extinction Rebellion describe themselves as an international movement that uses non violent civil disobedience to bring climate issues to attention. Since forming, they have had 3 core demands. Firstly they want the government to declare a climate emergency and work with other institutions to make change. Next, they want the UK to put legally binding policies in place to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025. Finally, they want a citizens assembly to be formed to oversee the changes needed to achieve their demands.
April seen their biggest protest action to date. It brought 10 days of marches, disruption and arrests to the streets of London. The aim was to hold down 4 protest sites in dierent areas of central London for 10 days and change them to be completely natural and pollution free. It started o with blocking roads at Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge, Marble Arch, Parliament Square and Piccadilly Circus. In the lead up, organisers asked supporters to book time o work or strike. They also said bring camping gear and think of it as a festival. It was a continuous 24/7 protest for 10 days at 4 main sites with some other individuals doing their own protests too.
The main site for it all was Oxford Circus. They placed a giant pink boat stating ‘Tell The Truth’ in the middle of the road blocking a junction. This boat was the centre piece of the protests. It was used as a stage for guest speakers, poets, live music and dj’s. With speakers mounted on and constant music playing, it was remnant of a small village festival. It wasn’t until you seen people chained and super-glued to the boat you realised it was a protest. At Marble Arch, the road junction was turned into a camp site. Rows of tents filed the street at night, but at day it was a place for environment focussed workshops, people assembly and a family area. Parliament Square also had tents at every street junction, but here protesters were also glueing themselves to the floor. They also projected climate change films onto buildings so their cause could both be seen and heard.
Waterloo Bridge was the site that had the most impact. It is one of the most busiest crossing bridges that commuters rely on to get to work. The bridge was closed completely. Instead of cars and buses, it was lined with trees and potted plants, tents and gazebos, a skate ramp and a truck as a make shift stage used for speeches and musical performances. In addition to these main sites, smaller protests were held at the Shell headquarters and the London stock exchange. Protesters chained themselves to the doors and superglued themselves to the windows so they couldn’t be moved. There was also a sit in at the National History museum, a sit in outside Heathrow Airport and protesters glueing themselves to trains at Canary Wharf.
The general public were expressing anger that it had been allowed to continue for 10 days because it was causing mass disruption. But because of the protest tactics being non-violent and remaining peaceful, police couldn’t find the means to remove them sooner. Majority of the time, police were stood there observing what was going on as a matter of safety because of the large numbers of people. The only people they could arrest were protesters that had glued or chained themselves to an area and refused to leave when asked. But even when doing this, police couldn’t clear full areas because they would run out of holding cells for those arrested. Because of the policies of non violence form Extinction Rebellion there were no conflicts with police forces, unlike what was seen in France. However, in case of arrests, Extinction Rebellion provided legal
observer volunteers which checked everything was staying safe and reasonable when police intercepted areas. They also offered free legal advice to any protesters taken into custody. Across the 10 days 1100 arrests were made. It cost London’s Metropolitan Police £7 million in extra police resources and businesses in central London lost out on £12 million due to streets being closed and having no passing footfall customers. Although it is a vast amount of money, it is significantly less than the costs occurring in France after violence on the streets.
In the wake of the 10 day takeover, the UK parliament approved a motion to declare an environment and climate emergency. This is a huge step towards achieving their number one goal of the protests. The calmness and good behaviour has meant that the protest wasn’t overshadowed with violence. Staying true to the cause was getting the headlines instead of violent altercations between demonstrators and authorities.
Could the non-violent approach be the way to success when it comes to protests? Keep up to date with images from France on Instagram @Rokjuo_
PLAYER 1 PLAYER 1 PLAYER 1 SHANTAY YOU SHANTAY YOU SHANTAY YOU STAY STAY STAY PLAYER 2 PLAYER 2 PLAYER 2 SASHAY AWAY SASHAY AWAY SASHAY AWAY
The beauty community is becoming more and more distorted. Drag queens are a mixture of makeup artists, models and characters. Mental health can play a huge part when it comes to expressing creativity and Marco has experienced the feeling of his drag persona taking the steering wheel and almost becoming the priority in his life; he has described it as the feeling that Mocha is becoming player 1 when in reality it should be Marco.
Words and images by Daniel Carvalho
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Picasso Tee / Moschino // Khaki Trousers / Supreme
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MOSCHINO
Words by Winner Omoregbee / Images by Louisa Wilkie
WALKING AROUND WITH A
Z
Weighing up the highs and lows of 420 this year, upon entering I felt prematurely high o anxiety & paranoia being greeted by several groups of police and LED signs exclaiming searches are in operation. Unlike most hyde park goers I can remember my April 20th very clearly as well as the constant fear of getting nicked. No one gets arrested for using weed its selling it which gets you in trouble nevertheless I had 8 pots in my bag so I sent out around 100 texts and turned my location on for the day. Words and images by Louis Harris-Fry
The police for the most part didnt bother me. They didnt really bother anyone. I saw people smoking openly and asking them for directions. I only saw one person get arrested the whole day. I tried to get a photo but it all looked a bit ments. On the lighter side, I saw Big Narstie making his rounds with a mob of underage white teenagers. That kinda bummed me out, I don’t want to be getting high around 14 year olds. I also saw a number of kids whitey and adults that had genuinely got too high. I feel for the so out of respect I didnt take photos... maybe one or two.
As my first official 420, I was unsure of the usual festivities. Obviously you show up and smoke a lot of weed, but what do you do when your high? After walking around for a bit I found the THC stage; a small black and green tent playing music and giving out longs. As I arrived, the MC was explaining that they canÂ’t play music past 4 because of the laws around these types of events, so after a while they started just doing acapellas. It was all a bit shit.
Also the free cannabis guy wasnt giving away any weed.
F E T I S H E S ? SWIPE
RIGHT
Settings decided to dig deep into the world of tinder on a quest to unveil some of the users fetishes. For privacy and security, we have kept their identity anonymous. From the research we have carried out, you may be shocked to find out that most people engaged in fetishes; “out of the ordinary” sex habits seem to have all been normalised. From the research we have acquired, it goes to show that fetishes are very normal but they are just not spoken about in everyday conversation. Society standards and values have made talking about sexual fetishes out of the norm and have deemed them as taboo. But in reality, we have to accept that we all have different sexual tastes and instead of shying away from it, tinder plays into this by allowing people to connect and speak together before hand in order to share their interests and fetishes with each other. As a society, it may be healthier for us to embrace who we are and express ourselves in all ways online and offline. “well at least at the point were you’re not harming anyone or not chocking to tight”.
Words by Winner Omoregbee
As time emerges, the world is becoming much more digital. People no longer have time for the regular meet ups to chat and see where it goes. Instead, it’s much faster to talk online and actually see if you have common interest first before “wasting your time”. After all, time is of the essence. Tinder has been named as the world’s largest dating app and has made it easy for individuals, especially millennials, to find dates and hook ups. Many are still concerned of the welfare for those who engage in these sort of activities. It’s deemed by some that we live in a “microwave society” were everything is fast paced, and noone really has time for anything or anyone. According to Mandy Oaklander writing for Time, “Tinder users had lower levels of selfworth, reported being less satisfied with their faces and looks and were more ashamed of their bodies. They were also more likely to think of themselves as sexual objects, to internalize societal ideals about beauty, to compare their appearances to others and to constantly monitor how they looked”.
INTIMATE
SETTINGS
Model left to right wearing Agent Provocateu Corset £325, suspenders £45/ Bra £85, Kimono £145
With influences from the “Spray Paint Dress� designed by Alexander McQueen, our looks illustrate the rebirth of Agent Provocateur lingerie. Paying homage to Italian horror films of the 1970s with sanguine TV static projections, we use the finest garments from British lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur to put together looks to reintroduce lingerie to the mainstream. Images by Louisa Wilkie, words by Jochebed Addo
Model wearing Agent Provocateu body suit £195
Model wearing
Agent Provocateu body suit £145, Kimono £150
SQUAT A squat party is a unique experience that consists of an abandoned building, sound systems (aka rigs), a fuck ton of drugs, and a feeling of belonging that no other party can provide. We bring you inside one of London’s squat parties for one night only. Words and images by Leah Rice
Squat party’s originate from the beginning of acid house music in the 1980’s. The new sound birthed a new cultural movement that spread across the country. Raves would be held in public places such as forests and motorway passages and sometimes drew thousands of people to attend from all corners of the country. This continued into the 1990’s and continued to grow. Ravers seen these events as a way to immerse themselves into the music in a permissive way, a long way away from mainstream clubs. However, in 1994 the government introduced the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act which banned large gatherings that featured music “characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”. This law made the raves official illegal… But of course that didn’t stop the ravers! Fast forward to 2019 and the scene is still as alive as it was back then. Every weekend in different cities across the country parties are happening.
If you haven’t been to a squat before, you’re probably wondering how they work. Organisers scout out a building, find a way of entry, assess the building to check its safe and functional, get the rig in, then on a burner phone they will leave a voicemail greeting stating directions to the location. This is called the party line. Ravers phone the party line from 11pm onwards waiting impatiently to find out the location. Organisers often leave a trail of messages saying go from A to B and phone back in an hour to find out where next. This is to prevent the party getting locked off by police before its even started. Being unaware of where you are going to adds to the excitement and knowing it is classed as illegal adds a danger element making it even more exciting. On arrival, ravers can turn up to a variety of buildings. From warehouses to old offices to unused garages and even forests. When inside, the space is filled with huge sound systems that break the legal sound limits but that doesn’t stop people dancing right infront of them, wanting to feel the music run through their bodies. There are often bars ran by the organisers to help fund the costs of transporting the equipment. There are also tanks of nitrous oxide (aka bluebottles) where ravers can get a balloon filled of laughing gas. Organisers don’t usually provide these but instead will charge outsiders a tax on them to also contribute towards running costs. Raves are often swarming with drugs but organisers emphasise that they encourage safe use and to look after one another and be responsible. Drugs are readily available, but there is no pressure to join in. No one cares what anyone else does. Raves also have a strict ‘leave no trace’ policy. Bins are provided and at the end of the rave there will be a clean up mission. Leaving no trace keeps the environment clean, prevents it being found out that the party happened, and also means the venue can be used again. Raves in 2019 and usually word of mouth, but keep your ears to the ground and you may just find one.
“I cant lie I do love boxing man up, still”
Casper Upon promising my colleges an editorial on underground London fight club “G********” ( he told me I can’t actually put what it’s called so let’s just call it fight club) I realised it was near impossible to get any photos inside for obvious reasons. So instead, I decided to do a profile on one of the fighters I know. Naturally I can’t give his name, but he’s asked me to refer to him as Casper. We spoke briefly at his current home just outside of London. He was cagey about giving me details about fight club. We mostly spoke about him growing up and what he gets from fighting.
Words and images by Louis Harris-Fry”
SETTINGS: Yo bro what you saying Casper: I’m good still Can you tell me your name, age, where you’re from and what you do or at least as much as you can g? My names Cas, I’m 22, originally from Pecks (Peckham) and I do a lot of things man you know. What do you do in your free time? Mainly gaming, I’m doing music as well. You want me to talk about fight club init? As much as you can tell me yeah g. Alright, so I started like a year or so ago but to be honest I’ve always been like a bad kid you know, so it made sense. Like man had bare fights in school and that. Can you say anymore bro? Yeah, yeah. So basically I had like problems with people in school init and then when we all left school it was still going on and where I’m from you know things can get peak like really peak so I’ve always been fighting basically like it’s just a part of life init. But with fight club its different. Like you can get your face smashed in there, but you know your still going home later; do you get it? So basically, fight club was like a safe way of me being able to be angry and fight man and not get killed. What is it about fighting that you enjoy? I can’t lie I do love boxing man up, still. Hahaha chill bro... Can you tell me about the club as a group? Is it like a family? Do people like each other? Have you ever had an issue with someone after the fight? Again, it’s weird. Like there’s no rules init, but there’s rules still, like we all have respect for each other cus it’s a sport, but some man have more respect than others. There’s been a couple ones where its tekky
How’d you mean? Like I’ve seen a couple man in there be sore losers and want to take the fight outside of the club. I had one situation where I saw someone who I had an issue with way before all of this and we just had to get it out there and then. Shit then... have you ever had a peak or a bad experience involving the club? To be honest bro I’ll tell you about that later but that one I told you about where I saw someone, I knew was that was peak like, I nearly got banned from the club. So how often do you train or what do you do to prepare for a fight? It’s gonna sound weird yeah, but it depends where I am in my head more than anything. I’ve had fights where I was just so angry at the time because of personal stuff that I don’t feel like I need to train. I just go in there vex tryna take off heads. Wow. Ha-ha yeah, I know g I know, I’m a tapped guy still. Nah your good g, what about the times you weren’t angry? I don’t know still like I spar a bit and do push ups and that, but more time I just bang out UFC with my gs init... I’ve probably spent more time on that game then I have actually fighting. PSN warrior yeah? Yeah that’s me hahaha.
To be in charge. To be improvisational. To come up with ideas. To understand the concerns. To understand the emotion. To have a strong head on your shoulders. To pleasure. To pain. To humiliate. To dominate. You cant be a great domme if you haven’t been a great sub.
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MAN IN UNIFORM
SETTINGS Advertorial
Life as a roadman can seem lethargic and unconcerned but that’s far from reality. These men are community aware and have a sense of family on the roads. So why is it that society perceive and have such an opinion of who a roadman is? Their work uniform doesn’t consist of suits and ties; they make their P in tracksuits and 95’s. We spent the day putting the world to rights, doing road, having smokes and wandering around their ends. The sense of friendship was strong. Growing up together and seeing each other through thick and thin, brother would be more suiting to their relationship with one another. Riding around in Nike, The North Face and Jordans -all from Footasylum- with a theme of fresh trainers, tracksuits, gilets and the colour grey.
Footasylum has become the hub to this style from man bags to the latest trainer drop. What do you think of the stereotype that comes with being a roadman? I think what comes with being a stereotypical roadman is we smoke weed, sell drugs and loiter on the streets. But in reality, we don’t go out of our way to aggravate anyone. We are just outside, living. What do you value in life? I value my family, I value my friends and I value god.
LONDON
SPRAY GROUND
From murals to name tags, street art has became a major part of London street culture. Graffiti artists and fans alike come from all corners of the globe to witness and contribute to the colourful works that paint the city. It is seen by some as vandalism of private property and artists are often labelled as criminals but on the contrary, many see it as an artistic political statement and a way to express an anti-establishment protest. Regardless of this, street art in the UK is illegal. Authorities attempt to cover pieces up when they appear, but this adds to the excitement of the street art scene as it is ever changing and there are often new pieces to admire. At SETTINGS we encourage having the freedom of creativity so we headed down to Waterloo’s Leake Street Tunnels, one of London’s street arts hotspots, to see what was about and who we could find.
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@Squiddy163
“I came from Italy to paint here in London. My preferred style is large scale freestyle paintings with a lot of detail”
Squiddy uses NBQ Pro Spraypaint. NBQ is an evolved spray paint, designed and developed by graffiti artists with the purpose to provide the ultimate tool. 158 colours available.
@Oh.Sir
“I like how tight the graffiti community is. I moved to London from Spain and it’s helped me fit in and adjust”
Oh Sir uses cans by Loop Colours. Loop. A company specialised in formulating and manufacturing spray paints, operating on the market for 30 years. 208 colours available.
@Phernster1
“I’m over 50 and it makes me feel happy seeing younger people spraying in the tunnel. The culture continues” Phernster uses Molotow premium spray paint. Equipped with the approved MOLOTOW™ technology, PREMIUM is the no. 1 referenced spray can in the graffiti scene. 252 colours available.
@Rabiez
“Today is the first time I’ve picked up a spray can in 15 years. I loved it in my youth, I spent all my time doing it ”
Rabiez uses Montana Cans. When passion meets precision. MONTANA-CANS laboratory nerds work hand-in-hand with Artists and Designers from around the globe. 214 colours available.
@Douleurtrois
“I’m visiting from Spain. I like to leave my mark whatever country I travel to. I’ll definitely be back to London again soon”
Douleurtrois uses Molotow premium spray paint. Equipped with the approved MOLOTOW™ technology, PREMIUM is the no. 1 referenced spray can in the graffiti scene. 252 colours available.
Taxidermy is a practice that many see to be disturbing and unnatural. With negative connotations, society does not see it as an art or science. Could we be more open and see it as an art form? Natalie, a vegetarian that dabbles in Taxidermy, has discussed her feelings towards the art and her reasoning behind her interest. Words and images by Alice Burgess
SURELY DEATH IS AS PURE AS LIFE
“I would say taxidermy is the art of preserving animals skins and carcasses to display. Some people think it’s a bit morbid but I like to see it as a fascinating art form, capturing the beauty in what nature has to offer. I myself only have interest in naturally sourced taxidermy, knowing that the animal itself has died of natural causes. Researching and investing time into where I am sourcing pieces from is something that is very important to me. I was always interested in taxidermy as a child. Being a passionate animal lover it just followed me into adulthood and was a way of bringing the outside to the inside of my home. Originally, taxidermy goes back as far as the Egyptians, but it only started in England in the 19th century with people creating mythical monsters out of different animal parts; really interesting but quite twisted. I think there are a lot of people that practice this form of art; it’s just a more niche market, very specialist. This is one of the few forms of artistic knowledge that hasn’t really changed much over the years. You cant really modernise and speed up the process of creating taxidermy so I think you have to be a very patient and precise kind of person to have the skill to create such beautiful pieces”.
SKEPTA
IGNORANCE IS BLISS OUT NOW